What are you expecting from God for this New Year? What is it that you want this year?
What are you expecting from your family, your spiritual life, your ministry, your finances, your church, academic life, your marriage, etc.
In order for you to have a great year, you must have faith but you should also plan for it. We need to get ready!
This is why we are going to start our Annual Fasting tomorrow, 31st January.
The challenge for these 21 days is to fast some meals and also give up food that you enjoy: like meat, sweets , coffee, bread , soft drinks , things that you really like and eat instead “simple meals”, vegetables, fruits, grains and drink water.
This is the challenge, it’s not an obligation , everyone should pray and decide how they want to fast, everyone should do their best for God’s Glory!
You’re fasting food and things that you really like, but I advise you to also should fast and limit your time on the internet, on facebook, instagram and be careful of how much time you spend watching TV, Netflix, the news or videos on WhatsApp. You should spend your time wisely, you should have more time with God every day . You are going to stop Facebook and you are going to FaceBible.
On these 21 days of fast and prayer, God is going to open the floodgates of Heaven over our Church, over Ireland and over your family and your life!
Fasting is very health. It’s good for your body (because you are probably going to lose weight) but the main benefit is in the spiritual growth and transformation you are going to experience if you do it right, if you do it for Him! Because it’s possible to fast but not do it for Him!
Why should you fast?
Firstly because fasting is a Christian habit.
If you read the bible you will see that Fasting is a spiritual habit practiced by Jesus , his disciples and his followers. It has been a source of power, strength, growth for believers ever since.
Jesus taught us about praying and fasting. Let’s read a verse about prayer.
“But you, when you pray, go into your room…..”. Matthew 6:6 NKJV
Do you believe that Jesus expects you to pray?
The phrase “when you pray” indicates that Jesus expects His disciples to pray. Jesus didn’t say: “if you pray” but He said “When you pray”!
Do you agree that Jesus expects you to pray?
Let’s read
“16 When you fast…..”
17 “But you, when you fast….”
Matthew 6:16, 17 NKJV
The phrase “when you fast” indicates that Jesus expects His disciples to fast.
Again, it doesn’t say “If you fast” , Jesus said : When you fast !
What does that indicate?
It indicates that He expects us to fast and in the same way as He expects us to pray! Is that logical?
Maybe you don’t like what I’m saying ! I know that when it comes to fasting it is not easy to say “amen!” or “glory to God!”. But once you discover the power that is in the act of fasting, you will say: Praise the Lord and thank you for giving us this key.
Jesus puts prayer and fasting on the exact same level, and if He expects us to pray He also expects us to fast.
Personally, I have seen huge breakthroughs and miracles in my life because of fasting. Breakthroughs can still come from fasting. Breakthroughs come from God and fasting is one of the ways we seek Him. It’s seeking God with diligence.
The Bible says: He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
Fasting is a way of humbling yourself before God.
I have seen chains broken. There were certain things I’d battled with and Lord gave me victory over these areas once I humbled myself through fasting.
Fasting is not something that boosts me up, it’s something that breaks me.
The key to the grace of God is humility, the key to humility is obedience and the key to obedience is fasting.
I want to invite you to try and develop fasting as a lifestyle, not just to fast once a year , but to fast once a week. Don’t just fast when you have problems. Fast because you want to draw closer to God.
God will not love you more because you fast and He won’t love you any less if you don’t fast, but it’s about you being humble.
The price for being used by God is breaking yourself.
That’s how fasting helps us.
Fasting is not trying to get more of God, fasting is about God getting more of you!
The real reason why I fast , to be honest, is because I still feel my own inability, I’m unprepared, I feel unprepared to do what God has called me to do, although I have some gifts , I know they mean nothing if God is not working through them !
When I’m fasting I’m recognising my dependence on God for this new year!
Because I don’t want to do what I have to do through the power of my flesh!
When you’re fasting you’re telling God, I need you, I need the anointing of the Holy Spirit!
Luke 5 Jesus is teaching about fasting and He said
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Luke 5:37-38 NKJV
Jesus said – if you want new wine, you must have new wineskins !
That’s because new wine ferments, the new wine is constantly fermenting, there is activity in it!
The new wine is the Holy Spirit. If you want the activity of the Holy Spirit in your life for this New Year you need a new wineskin!
Jesus teaching is: When you are fasting, you’re working on a new wineskin!
When you fast, you’re presenting your body as a living sacrifice, He can then pour out His Holy Spirit into a new wineskin!
Do you remember how Jesus told his disciples that fasting is a powerful weapon with prayer?
“His disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why could we not cast demons out?””
“So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”” Mark 9:28, 29 NKJV
There are somethings in your life that are simply not going to happen until you fast and pray.
In these 21 days of fasting you should take extra time to pray!
Fasting with no prayer or the Word of God is nothing but a diet and a religious ritual!
You need to fast while praying and reading with the word! If you fast but don’t meditate on the Word and you don’t take time to pray, you’re only dieting! Fasting should create extra time for the word and prayer!
This is why for the next 21 days you should also reduce your time on Facebook, Instagram, Internet, TV and Netflix because you need to use your time wisely!
You need extra time to give especial attention for the Word of God!
Why is fasting is such a powerful tool in the Christian life?
Because fasting is a way of humbling yourself!
The bible says in the book of proverbs that Pride goes before falling!
“Pride goes before destruction” Proverbs 16:18
There many people that start their life with God doing well, but after some years they let pride in and it destroys their ministry and spiritual life.
Why must you humble yourself?
Because pride can destroy your life, it hurts your ministry, your marriage, your professional life and your future.
Pride is vicious and evil and it can hold us back from all blessings that God intended for us.
Do you remember what was the first ever demonstration of pride? When was it first seen in the history of the universe?
Who was the first one to commit this sin? Lucifer, an Angel in heaven.
If pride as a sin could break out in heaven and cause an Angel to lose his heavenly place, how much more susceptible are we, sinners here on earth?
“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.””
Luke 14:11 NIV
This verse is universal, this applies to heaven as well as earth. The great demonstration of this truth is Lucifer and Jesus.
Lucifer was a live being, was in heaven with Go, yet he slipped and fell.
Jesus was in heaven with God but He humbled himself, even when dying on the cross He stayed humble, and the scripture says: God highly exalted Him.
Let’s read Philippians 2:9
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,”
Philippians 2:9 NIV
Why did God exalt Him? Because He humbled Himself and everyone who is humble will be exalted.
I can promise you exaltation, if you humble yourself. There are no exceptions.
The lower you go the higher up get.
Humility is an essential condition for effective prayer and for spiritual growth.
Beware of pride! Remember that you are going to be tested, you are going to be confronted and God is going to use your boss, your teacher, your parents, your leaders, your pastor and what is truly inside your heart will be made manifest.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
James 4:10 NIV
Notice what it says: Humble yourself! Don’t ask God to do it for you, you do it! When you humble yourself, God will do the lifting up.
“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,”
I Peter 5:5-6 NKJV
If you’re coming to God in your pride, He will resist you. You cannot get close to God if you don’t get rid of your pride.
One of the biblical ways of humbling ourselves is through fasting.
King David said:
“I humbled myself with fasting”. Psalms 35:13 NKJV
Why do you need to humble yourself? Because your soul is the arrogant part of you, it’s the egoistic part.
Your soul has 3 parts: the will , the intellect and the emotions.
Your soul always says: I want , I think , I feel.
God says: what you want is not important, what you think is not important and what you feel is not important!
What is important is God’s will and if you want to get aligned with God you have to deal with your soul.
I have seen people of God, people with great ministries, losing everything because of their stubborn soul, they are proud and they don’t submit to God, and also don’t submit to authorities.
If pride destroyed Lucifer’s ministry in heaven, can you imagine what pride can do to you here on earth?
Let me tell you one thing: The stomach is a wonderful servant but a terrible master.
Question : Who is the master in your life? Is it you or your stomach?
Let’s finish reading the last verse Leviticus 16:29
““This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.”
Leviticus 16:29 NKJV
This verse describes the way in which God ordained a sacrifice to make atonement for Israel’s sins. And what God asked of Israel is for them to afflict their souls; this word “afflict” is frequently translated to “humble”. God is asking His people to humble their souls.
We as Christians are the same, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is complete and perfect. But if we are to benefit from it we have to meet God’s conditions just as the people of Israel.
The Jewish people understood the phrase “afflict your souls” meant fasting. To go without food.
Fasting is abstaining from food for spiritual purposes.
Israel was required to humble their souls in order to receive the benefit of the sacrifice offered on their behalf.
The Jewish people knew that “humble their souls” is the same as fast. This is an unbroken practice in the history of the Jewish people, from the time of Moses to this day, where on the day of atonement they afflict their souls by fasting.
Fasting comes from the New Testament teachings, and afflicting our soul is to fast, it’s bringing our soul into subjection. It’s not allowing our soul to dictate our will.
It’s submitting ourselves to God!
That’s why Romans 12:1 says: Submit your body as a living sacrifice and the way to do it is by fasting!
I can guarantee you, if you humble yourself God will exalt you.
We need to repent from our proud ways.
Don’t tell God, I don’t have any pride to repent from. This simply shows how far you are from His face.
He is asking us: Humble yourself, pray, seek my face turn from your wicked ways
How do you humble yourself? By fasting!
If you fast in the right way , if you repent from your sins, God is saying: I will hear you, I will forgive you, I will heal your land, I will reward you !
May the Lord bless and keep you.